Cisco spends $850,000 to lobby in Q3

Cisco Systems, the world's largest maker of computer networking gear, spent $850,000 in the third quarter to lobby the federal government on corporate taxes and other issues, according to a disclosure report.

That was up from $540,000 in the second quarter and $470,000 in the same period a year ago, though it was only a slight increase from the $830,000 spent in the first quarter of 2011.

Cisco lobbied Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, the Transportation Department and the Commerce Department during the July-September period, according to a report it filed Oct. 20 with the House clerk's office.

One of the issues involves corporate taxes on products sold abroad. Many companies, including Cisco, have been reluctant to bring that money back to the U.S. because they would have to pay a U.S. corporate tax of 35 percent. Many companies took advantage of a tax amnesty for repatriating cash in 2004, and some have been pushing for a repeat of what was supposed to be a one-time event.

Cisco had about $44 billion in cash and investments as of Oct. 29. Much of that sits at overseas subsidiaries.

Other issues Cisco lobbied on included cyber security, the patent system and the use of wireless spectrum. Wireless companies have been seeking access to more airwaves to offer more wireless services, and Cisco stands to benefit in selling networking equipment to run those services.

Cisco Systems, the world's largest maker of computer networking gear, spent $850,000 in the third quarter to lobby the federal government on corporate taxes and other issues, according to a disclosure report.